I really like your appliance selection. It's exactly what I would choose if I were starting from scratch. Don't forget to budget for ventilation. I recycled my Vent-A-Hood and it's only 36". I do wish I had the 42". The BS Platinum can really kick out some smoke and grease. It's an absolute delight. My 36" is barely keeping up. It's not the draw, it's the circumference of the hood.

I went with quartz. I couldn't handle the destruction of the marble. The trade off was accepting that I couldn't throw hot pans on the counter. I bought some of the large sized insulated pads for the counter and put them out along with my large cutting board as part of my mise en place. This way I have a place to park the hot pans.

I don't have soapstone. But, from my reading on GW, it seems that there are a number of varieties of soapstone with different tolerances. If you have your heart set, I would do some further research to make sure I get the right soapstone. Then, you can agonize over the oil/no oil decision.

I selected the Kohler Strive undermount stainless sink. It came with the grid and an additional grid for sponges. I wondered about some of the Amazon stainless sinks, too. So, I went with something that I knew I could get warranted without paying for the Franke name badge. I'm happy with the decision. It's wearing well. I did order some extra rubber bumpers for the grid to put in the drawer for the day one of them wears out.

Your appliances look great. I have a 36" BS RCS with a 42" hood and it puts out a lot of heat, so definitely get a 42" hood for the RNB or Platinum. As for your question whether RNB or Platinum, I'd say get the RNB and use the extra money saved toward something else. My in-laws recently got the Platinum, so I've only had the chance to use it once, but I personally didn't find a huge benefit to the 25K burner vs the 22K. The 22K is powerful! So is the 15K honestly. It doesn't heat a pot of water insanely fast, but it sears and caramelizes and sautés like a dream. As does the 22K. I don't know what other features the Platinum has over the RNB aside from the higher BTU burners. But if all the rest is equal, I'd lean toward the RNB.

If soapstone is what you want, definitely get it. Soapstone has harder and softer varieties, so like homechef said, check to see about getting a harder variety.

I have a Blanco silgranit sink (it's undermount). I love it. I've had it for 1 1/2 yrs and it's fabulous. I never knew a sink could be so pleasing :-) And unlike comparable size SS sinks they are a lot less expensive. I had my heart set on a SS sink until I found it was over $1200. And I couldn't find another one I liked as well. The love on GW for silgranit sinks led me to look at them and I'm so glad I did.

A friend just installed soapstone counters and an integrated soapstone farmhouse sink with drainboard built in. It's stunning and she loves it. She, too, has a Bluestar range.

We went with granite because it went the best with our the rest of our design and the open plan to the rest of the home. I solved the hot pan problem by buying several trivets that look good and are always out on the counter so I don't have to worry about putting pan down and hurting the countertop.

I thought I didn't love the look of most granites, but there are so many different types of granite out there that you might just find something you love. When we went to look thinking we would go with quartz, we were shocked to find a lot of beautiful granites that we both liked.

There are a million sink choices these days. I had no idea until I visited this forum actually. I ended up with the Kohler Proflic and it is my favorite thing in my new kitchen. I love, love, love it. Lots of accessories and very flexible for both cleaning and prep work. It was over $800 but worth every penny. When I was making the decision someone did say you spend a lot of time at the sink and it is worth spending money on. Now I agree with that sentiment.

I do love my Kohler Whitehaven cast iron farmhouse sink. It is not for everyone, but very pretty and very functional. I like how close it is to me when I am washing dishes.

My pics -work in progress: · More Info

Greenwoodframed, Re: BS simmer burner. I have a flame diffuser disk that I leave on the simmer burner. It allows me to use the burner as a warming burner. Turn the burner up a little with the diffuser and I can do rice and quinoa without any trouble. I've used a diffuser for years on a number of different gas cooktop units.

BlueStar ... Thermador wall oven, Thermador microwave, SubZero 42 in fridge ... Bosch dishwasher

I'll be the sole dissenter here. Being a "pretty serious cook" is about skills, ingredients, and time -- not appliances. I don't see the point of oversized or upscale appliances. I know, for example, that BlueStar's review are quite mixed -- and remember that once you've committed to these larger items, you're stuck with replacing them with same-sized items. It's a very big budget bite ... for a small return over a standard appliance.

- I am going to do an undermount sink, but there are SO MANY choices.
I am wary of the $250 sinks on Amazon, but do I really need to spend
$1300?

No single item in your kitchen is used as much as your sink. At the same time, I think you can fall somewhere between $250 and $1300 and be happy. It IS important that you get the sink right (assuming you're going under mount like pretty much everyone else) because once it's in ... it's not nearly so easy to replace as, say, a refrigerator.

I'd say go with a heavy, large single-bowl sink with the drain towards the back, and you can't really go wrong. I was set on the Kohler Stages 45, but now I'm leaning towards a sink from CreateGoodSinks.com -- you'll find options over $1300, but you'll also find some solid choices in the $800 range.

Don't forget, too, that a sink is only part of the equation ... don't forget your faucet, garbage disposal, and possibly other goodies such as a Never MT, a hot water dispenser, etc.

Keep in mind, too, that we're approaching Black Friday -- you might clean up (pun unintentional, but it made me laugh) on a sink during that sale period. And your chances might be even better on Cyber Monday.

soapstone but my cabinet guy is trying to dissuade
me

So many choices here. As someone else said, all soapstone isn't equal -- if you do your homework and make sure you're choosing a harder version, you're going to be fine. At the same time, I also agree with the poster who says you should peruse some granite -- slabs vary so widely; you may find a piece that appeals to you, and it is tougher than soapstone. Looking can't hurt.

In the end, if you want the soapstone, go for it -- regardless of what your installer thinks. It is, after all, STONE. It may require more upkeep than granite, but you're not going to destroy it.

I did order some extra rubber bumpers for the grid to put in the drawer for the day one of them wears out.

Yeah, I think that way too. Cheap to buy today; impossible to find five years from now.

I do love my Kohler Whitehaven cast iron farmhouse sink.

For one second I thought that was a bathtub ... nice!

I can do rice and quinoa without any trouble.

Totally off-topic: Get a rice cooker. I mean, a small appliance rice cooker -- they're as cheap as $15 or $20 at Walmart, and they are the best way to cook grains. Dump your water, rice, butter and salt into it ... and walk away; no watching for the water to boil; no timing to 20 minutes ... just perfect rice with no hands-on. It shuts off when it's finished cooking and holds the rice warm. It cooks quinoa and other grains -- we eat millet, barley, bulgur, and other whole grains that most people don't -- and it'll cook real Southern grits without hands-on attention.

Loved my 36 inch bluestar range and bosche dw.

I had no idea my question would garner so many replies. Thank you to all!

First - a few explanations are in order. I picked the Blue Star because I wanted open burners, and that basically left me with an option of Capital or Blue Star - and I didn't like the former. I was (am) enthusiastic about having 1 gas and 1 electric oven - and it seemed like the difference between Platinum and RNB was the oven and that 25K burner. If anyone can enlighten me further as to whether I should care enough to spend 2K more, I'm all ears!! I can't figure it out now.

@homechef: can you talk about the diffuser more? What it looks like, where to get it, etc? We have a celiac so we have a rice cooker, but sometimes I just need to simmer something - or we need to make more rice than I can comfortably cook in the rice cooker, so I'd love to hear a little more

re: soapstone - I have to go to the stone yards! Around here everyone seems to carry quartz. And quartz. And quartz. And marble. So... I need to branch out. I am in metro NY and I got some contact info for 2 places in CT but am willing to drive to NJ as well. My husband told me today that he doesn't think he'll be able to control his urge to cut on the counter, and if that's the case, I'm not sure soapstone will work

It seems like there's a wide variety of sinks here. The one I don't know much about is the silgranit; if you can tell me something that would be great.

Thank you for any links.

The quartz photo looks beautiful!

I cannot fit a 42" hood. I ordered an 1100 CFM one through my cabinet guy, who was able to give me a MUCH lower price than Blue Star (since he basically sold it to me at cost - he's a really nice guy and by his own admission isn't interested in jacking up prices). The Vent a Hood only went up to 600 CFM in my preferred size.

Am reusing my garbage disposal. There was very little we could salvage from the old kitchen, but disposal and dishwasher were good to go.

Anyway... thanks to all, feel free to comment more, and offer me as much advice as you'd like!

You definitely cannot cut on soapstone, so what will it be.... trivets or cutting boards? I think there are compromises with any product. It just come down to what you are willing to live with. I had quartz and loved it. Super easy maintenance. I now have soapstone. It's definitely more work, but it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Take a look at Silgranit sinks, especially the super single with the offset drain. People love that they are tough, don't show water marks, are quiet and they get rave reviews here (just google gardenweb silgranit) I personally like the looks of the dark ones, but the light ones.... not so much. Obviously just personal preference.

We just did leathered black granite and a silgranite sink in our cabin. I wanted honed so it would look like soapstone but hubby wanted leathered. I really like it. But honed would definitely look more like soapstone.

Before

After

Close up of sink area before faucet.

"My husband told me today that he doesn't think he'll be able to control his urge to cut on the counter, and if that's the case, I'm not sure soapstone will work"

While there are hard varieties of soapstone that won't be harmed from cutting (not chopping) on them, quite frankly, cutting directly on ANY stone, is not advised. And, if you care at all about your knives, you wouldn't do it.

Teixeira's NJ location is convenient to get to from just about anywhere in the NY metro area. Takes us about 35/40 mins from Long Island (North Shore, Nassau County). I suggest taking a ride over, have a look around, and ask questions. Super nice people. Mention that you'd like one of the harder varieties. You can get a really good deal on slabs in the remnants section, in the outdoor yard. That's where we found ours.

So...leave a cutting board or mat on the counter for hubby, but go for the soapstone!

I have the Bluestar 36 RNB, love it! I also have Soapstone, love it! Silgranite sink, love it! I do have a section of Maple butcher block counter, where I do almost all my cutting and prep, but also have cutting boards for use on the soapstone when needed.

Re Bluestar & Rice: I found with my Bluestar Cooktop that I can get a low-enough simmer by using the area on the control dial between 'High' and 'Off'. So, the official 'Low' setting is not low enough, but you can go lower on the other side of the 'High'.

The only surface you can cut on without ruining the counter is Neolithic, but it will ruin your knives. If you love soapstone get it.

Here is a link to a flame tamer at Amazon.com. This should do the trick. While you are at it get a set of Oxo cutting boards in three sizes for DH. He's ruining your knives. Order the soapstone you love. He needs to change his habits either way.

https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Energy-Protect-9-5-Inch/dp/B0016IQCM0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1479164050&sr=8-5&keywords=flame+diffuser

YMM I tried this when I got home- GENIUS!! Thanks so much for the tip!

You guys are funny. Mostly DH cuts bread and fruit. It drives me nuts. I'll have to try the "you're ruining my knives" approach. The leathered granite looks pretty good and might work in lieu of soapstone, but I'll take a drive to NJ!

He is ruining your knives. The next time you catching him chopping or cutting on the countertop with your nice knives, make him sharpen your knives. Two or three times later, he'll cut it out. (Pun intended)

My husband said the same thing. I did catch him cutting on the countertop once and only once. I bought some plate size dishwasher safe cutting boards and have them readily and easily accessible. I was going to get a large wooden cutting board but the idea of having to oil it monthly (this is what Boos is currently recommending) was so ridiculous I just decided that I didn't need to support their product.

THIS is what we use for when DH needs to cut something. I keep them in one of the top drawers near the fridge. Flexible, and easy to use. Heck if he's that bad with wanting to use the countertop, keep one on the counter.

I can't wait to see what you do! We're almost complete with our kitchen reno and we bought a Bluestar 36" Platinum, have a 36" Monsoon Vent-A-Hood (no problems with heat so far, fair bit of cooking, but this week will tell the tale!), and soapstone counters.

Bluestar Platinum: the 25K burner was a nice-to-have. We liked getting the removable griddle/grill insert as DH is a pancake maker. I haven't done any steaks indoors on it yet, but the time is coming this winter. DH is also an engineer and really liked the tight tolerances of all fittings. We looked at both the Platinum and RNB at the showroom and the Platinum felt engineered like a high end sports car. No complaints here. And I'll be honest, I plain liked the look better. And since this is the one and only complete kitchen customization of my life (no plans to move, universe please be kind to us!), we chose the Platinum.

Soapstone: we are fortunate that Dorado Soapstone is in Denver, CO, about an hour away. I went down and picked out my slabs, which was fantastic. As others have said, there are different hardness factors, so don't let arguments about that convince you without doing some HW. In my earlier life, I spent a lot of time in labs. There are reasons it has been a prime material for them for so long: takes heat just fine (I remember seeing a Bunsen burner flame falling directly on the counter, no issues); won't etch (bring on your lemon juice, vinegar, red wine!), and is naturally germ-resistant since it's nonporous (hot water with a little soap is really all you need!). We've had soapstone tile in a teenager's bathroom for about 8-9 years now--it was waxed or oiled (can't remember which) once upon installation and we haven't done a thing other than clean it. In the new kitchen, I've re-oiled the island countertop a couple of times, mostly just for my own "new kitchen" love, but it's really no big deal. A little mineral oil on a rag--not really different than wiping down my countertops.

I'm going to put up my Before and After shots soon with more details soon, if you're interested. I learned so much from browsing this site, I'd like to give back.

Wishing you all the best as you decide!!